State Police: Alleged trespassers at Quabbin Reservoir not connected to other criminal activity

The seven people who were allegedly trespassing at the Quabbin Reservoir in Ware early Tuesday are not tied to any other criminal activity, State Police said today.

In a statement, spokesman David Procopio said the five men and two women found inside the reservoir were cleared after a “thorough investigation.”

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below

Procopio said that “the Massachusetts State Police and the FBI have determined that the subjects have no connection to any other criminal activity or groups. The investigation has determined that the only crime the group committed was trespassing, and there is no evidence that there was a threat to the water supply.”

He said the seven alleged trespassers will be summonsed to Eastern Hampshire District Court for a show-cause hearing on the trespassing charges.

The incident had led officials at the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority to conduct tests of the reservoir to search for contamination. There was none, said Frederick A. Laskey, executive director of the MWRA.

At about 12:30 a.m. Tuesday, a trooper stopped the men and women as they were walking away from one of the reservoir’s entrances toward two vehicles. They told the trooper they were recent college graduates from the University of Massachusetts and Smith College. The men said they were chemical engineers who went to see the reservoir because it fit their scholarly interests, Procopio said. The group told the troopers they were from Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Singapore.

“Their names will not be released unless and until the court [that] hears the evidence determines that trespassing charges should issue against them,” Procopio said today. “We will have no further comment on this incident at this time.”

The Quabbin Reservoir, one of the largest man-made public water supplies in the country, can hold up to 412 billion gallons of water.

Martin Finucane of the Globe Staff contributed to this report. Travis Andersen can be reached at tandersen@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @TAGlobe.